In a Hurry
by Ecda
Summary: The BAU team are in a hurry to finish a case and go home.
1. Chapter 1 The Disappointment

Chapter 1 Disappointment,

For the BAU team it had been a very busy last few weeks. They had worked on two cases and were finishing up their last one. It was a Tuesday and they had just spent the last six days in Miami where they finally caught a serial killer who was murdering construction workers, cutting them into pieces and leaving them all over the city. It had been a time consuming case and a very tough one mainly because they had not have had the full cooperation of the Miami Police Force but at last it was thankfully over and they were going back home.

"God, I am so glad this case is over, I have had it with this hot and humid weather" complained Morgan as he was walking along with the rest of the team towards the plane.

"You and me Derek. Amazingly Hotch gave up on wearing suits even if it was just two days ago!" answered Rossi, smiling and looking back at Hotch who in return just frowned at him.

"At least you guys have no problem on the hair department, this weather does not help at all" added JJ as she was trying to style her hair without luck.

Just as Morgan was about to tease JJ about her beauty problems, Hotch's cell phone rang.

"Hotchner", he answered.

"Hello sir, I am sad to be the bearer of bad news for all my darlings but I just got notification from the white witch, oops! Sorry! From Strauss that you are not to come back home to Quantico but fly to Concord, New Hampshire for a case".

"Fine Garcia. Please send us all the files immediately, we will review them on the way there, and Garcia…"

"Yes sir,", darn Garcia thought, here it comes, he is going to reprimand me for the slip of the tongue, I should just tell him Emily came up with that nickname…no, I guess he would not believe that , well….

"Never mind, it is a deserving one…just, send the files" added Hotch as he hung up, with a smile just barely there.

Back at Quantico, Garcia had a big smile on her pretty face as she was thinking how his boss sometimes surprised her by having a kind of dry but none the less sense of humor. It was too bad he rarely showed his smile but at the same time, she was sure that if he did there would be flocks of female agents from other departments wondering around the BAU just to catch a glimpse of his dimples. She already got enough of them asking her about Derek Morgan and once in a while even about Reid. Well anyways, it was too bad they were not coming home, it got lonely when they were gone too long.


	2. Chapter 2 The Reasons

Chapter 2: Reasons.

Back at the plane, Hotch talked to the pilot about the change of plans and then delivered the bad news to his team. All of them were very disappointed for not being able to go back home, but they knew that they could maybe make a difference in what was happening up in New Hampshire. The flight was going to be a long one so everyone took a seat, each of them thinking of what plans they would have to change now that they were going straight to another case.

Morgan had his headphones on and was listening to The Fray, he appeared relaxed and comfortable but in reality he was not. Morgan was upset. Upset because once again he was going to have to cancel a date with Gabrielle and she was hot. They have only been out once and this was the third time that he was about to cancel, he did not think she would give him the opportunity for a new date. Well, he thought, that is how it goes. Maybe he could ask out that girl that works out at his gym…unless by some miracle they could all be back home by Saturday afternoon. No, probably not, not the way his luck had been these past few weeks.

Reid was sitting besides Morgan with a book on his hands, but if you looked at him you could see that he was just staring at its open pages. Every time he read a few words his thoughts would side track him. He had planned a few weeks ago to visit his mother, her birthday was this coming Friday and he wanted to surprise her. He comprehended that with her illness she may not be fully aware of the date but then he realized that he was, and for him it was important to be there. Maybe he could talk to Hotch about it, ask for some time off. No, that would definitely not be fair to the others, he was sure all of them had things to do. Just then across from him, he saw JJ. She was searching for something inside her purse. Spender knew she had a better reason to be wanting to be back home: little Henry, his godson. He would just have to cross his fingers and hope for a quick case.

JJ took out her cell phone, she was trying to think of the right choice of words which would help explain the situation to Will, one more time. She was so glad her mother also helped taking care of Henry, mmm that was another difficult phone call to make. At least Will was a detective and understood her dilemma not that he would be happy; her mother, that was a totally different ball game. JJ missed her baby terribly, she missed Will too but at least they did phone one another every night. She remembered that Henry had been invited to his first birthday party this weekend, now she was surely going to miss it. Will would take him and tell her about it but that somehow would not be the same.

Rossi was sitting right beside a sad looking JJ. He could clearly understand why she was feeling down, no need to be a profiler to see it. David Rossi saw this delay like an inconvenience. He had rented a cabin for this weekend and planned to go hunting and maybe do some fishing. Being outdoors always helped him relax, and this past weeks had been quite demanding. " I am not that young anymore" he thought to himself and smiled. Rossi had then the same hopes as Reid, maybe the case would be over by Friday and he could still have his peaceful and relaxing weekend.

Only two members of the team were not truly displeased of not being able to return home straight away. Emily had been practically forced to agree to attend a party Friday evening at the Brazilian Embassy just to please her mother. How she hated those things! They were usually pretty boring although she had been told that the ones organized by the Brazilians were quite fun because a lot of dancing was involved, but for Emily that made it even worse. She loved to dance but not with a lot of pompous men that she did not know, if she only had someone that she could feel comfortable asking…at that same moment Hotch took the sit in front of her , he was holding a cup of coffee on his hands. She looked at him and smiled.

His eyes smiled back and he asked: "would you like some, Prentiss, it is freshly brewed".

"It is tempting but I want to catch some sleep before we arrive , but thanks anyway" she answered and immediately thought that Hotch would be the perfect partner to attend the party with, one of his icy looks and nobody would harass her, and she would be the envy of all the women there. Suddenly, she smiled once again and became aware that she was fantasizing about her boss. That just would not do. Emily returned her thoughts to a much safer road, now she was pretty happy to have the perfect excuse to get out of the party, maybe if she was lucky they would be back by Saturday and she could have a relaxing evening watching old movies and eating junk food.

Hotch was wondering what had swiftly changed Prentiss expression from concern to dreamy like and then to contentment, all in a few seconds. Looking at her now, she seemed even happy, while the rest of his team seemed preoccupied. She was always a puzzle for him, all the time surprising him, and her eyes when she smiled made him feel so…what was it, he was not sure, not sure he should be even thinking about this, about her. Hotch was certain all of them had probably a deep desire to be home instead of tackling another case but he knew they were some of the best professionals he had ever had the pleasure to work with. Even though they all would have preferred to be somewhere else he was 100% sure they would perform their jobs with the same dedication and commitment they always showed. Hotch himself had no real hurry to get back to his empty apartment. Jack had three weeks vacations so Hayle was going to spend the first two of them visiting some relatives in San Francisco. This meant that this weekend he was not going to have Jack over. Jack. His boy. He was his everything. Him and his team. Since New York he had understood that the team was his family, he cared deeply for all of them even if he was not able to express this with words.


	3. Chapter 3: Working hard

**Thanks to all of you that have read, and to the few that have reviewed! This is my first story and it has meant some hard work because English is not my native language so please forgive my mistakes. **

Chapter 3: Working hard

As soon as they had gotten to the Police Station of Concord, New Hamphire, late that afternoon, they started working non-stop. They felt some relief when they noticed the full cooperation they were receiving from the detectives working the case. They got all the information that was available at the time. During the past two weeks four men had been killed while hunting dear. All of them were residents of Concord and had lived there all their lives, they had their hunting license in order and were liked members of the community with no criminal records.

Around 10pm, Spencer Reid was about to get his fifth cup of coffee since their arrival when he heard a deep tired voice:

"Ok, that is all for tonight, it was a long plane ride and all of us are just too tired to think straight, lets pack and go to the hotel" ordered Hotch. "You did have time to book us some rooms, right JJ".

"Yes sir, but as it was so short noticed will will have to double up" replied a sleepy JJ.

"No problem, at all" commented Prentiss.

"Speak for yourself, Emily. Now I guess I have to share again with the Reid here, and all he wants to watch is The Science Channel!

"Well at least I am not a fan of those silly reality shows" retorted Reid.

Just as Morgan was about to defend himself, Rossi interrupted:

"Now, now, lets get moving, I think it is past your bedtime and you both are cranky!"

Hotch just rolled his eyes and started heading out, following him he heard JJ's and Emily's giggles, while Morgan and Reid were being pushed out by a smiling Rossi.

At the hotel, as Hotch told them they would have breakfast at 7am, as they usually did when they were on a case, he met with a strange request.

"Uhm, Hotch, couldn't we have breakfast an hour earlier, that way we could be back at the precinct around 7am" suggested Reid.

" Reid, don't you think that is a bit early, I am sure the rest of the team want some more time to rest"

"Actually, I think it is an excellent idea, that would gives us more time to go to the different crime scenes before it gets dark" added Rossi.

"I saw the weather report and it seems we have a forecast of rain in the next few afternoons" reported JJ.

"Ok, agreed then, we will meet for breakfast at 6am, now everyone go rest, tomorrow is going to be another long day!" concluded a surprised Hotch.


	4. Chapter 4: Understanding

Chapter 4 : Understanding

At their room, Rossi was just coming out of the bathroom ready for bed, when he found Hotch sitting down on one of the twin beds still all dressed up. Hotch just looked at him and said:

"Ok Dave, start talking".

"What do you mean Aaron, what are you referring to?" answered Rossi, actually not very surprised by Hotch's question and aware of its meaning but still wanting to hear what the other man was thinking.

"You know well what I am referring to, what is this business of having breakfast at an earlier time? You more that anybody else , are always on my back reminding me that I sometimes drive the team too hard, now you are all in favor of having almost no rest. Come on, spill it right now!" a frustrated Hotch stated.

"Fine, Aaron. I am just eager to get back home, just as all the rest of the team is. Are you acquainted with the fact that out of the last 20 days, we have spent only five of them back on our own beds. Three of those days before the Denver case, two of them before Miami. We were all kind of hoping to spend this weekend home, so I guess we are willing to work twice as hard and hope there is a small chance that this thing gets resolved before the weekend. That is it!" replied an anxious David Rossi.

"I realize this, Dave, but as you know it was not my doing to come here straight from Miami."

"I am aware it was assigned by Strauss, nobody is blaming you Aaron, but that does not change the situation, the team just needs a few days of decompressing. "

"I have already requested for our team to be out of the rotation for the next two weeks after we finish this assignment. I guess I should have told all of you this afternoon" added Hotch in a soft voice, regretting his earlier silence.

"Do not worry, that will bring some big smiles tomorrow during breakfast" concluded Rossi.

As Hotch started to get up and open his go bag to get ready for bed, he jokingly said,

"So, Dave, got a hot date that you have not told me about for this weekend…"

Wednesday morning at 6am, Reid and Morgan were sure they would be the first to sit down for breakfast but they were genuinely surprised to see Hotch and Rossi already having a cup of coffee and some pancakes. JJ and Emily were just sitting down by them with their plates full, so it seemed that they actually were the last to arrive. They all had a satisfying first meal because they were certain that it was going to be a very long day. Hotch informed the team about the good news about them being out of the rotation for a couple of weeks, that meant no traveling around, it made all of them extremely happy. Spencer thanked Hotch and added that all of them were going to work extra hard for the case to be solved, if that happened before the weekend that would be kind of like an extra bonus for all of them.

After breakfast, JJ, Reid and Prentiss went back to the precinct to work victimology while Rossi, Morgan and Hotch traveled to the different crime scenes. As Hotch drove the SUB he thought some more about what he had spoken with Dave the night before. They had talked about an hour more before they actually gone to sleep. According to Dave, all of them had plans for the weekend. He now knew about Reid's mother having a birthday and about Derek's date. He was hoping that not only for the well being of this community but of his team, they could find the unsub quickly. But Hotch's main concern were not Morgan, Rossi or Reid, although their reasons for wanting to be home were worthy, he was a lot more concerned for JJ. He had experienced first hand how difficult it was to balance work and family, and he had not succeeded. He wished better luck to JJ. As for Emily, he knew he was a bit curious about her , as always. Dave had spoken about the others but confessed he did not know if Emily was in a hurry to be back home or not, it seemed she was a bit ambivalent. Hotch had to wonder why. When they arrived at the first site where victim number one had been found, Hotch's thoughts about Emily and his team where immediately forgotten as he was focused on nothing more than finding clues which would lead them to the killer.

I will appreciate any comment you can give me to make this a better story. Please review and thanks for taking the time to read it!


	5. Chapter 5 Victim 5

Chapter 5: Victim #5

That afternoon when Hotch, Morgan and Rossi were returning from the different crime sites, they got a call from Reid, who told them that The Concord Police Department had just been informed of another victim being found not more that 20 miles away from the first crime scene. They quickly turned around and drove to the new location. There, they found the detective in charge, two teenagers and the body of Steven Williams, a 44 year old restaurant owner, who on his time off loved to hunt. He was victim number five. It seemed the two teenage boys had been looking for a secluded spot in the woods to drink some of the vodka they had stolen from one of their homes when they saw the bloodied body of Mr. Williams. The teens had dialed 911 knowing that they were reporting a murder because they could clearly see how a bullet had entered Steven Williams forehead. Right now, the youngsters were about to enter a squad to be driven to their homes. There were no witnesses, no clues, only another victim, this time with a hole on his forehead.

"Just exactly like the others" exclaimed Morgan, trying to cover himself up with his windbreaker as the slight drizzle that was falling down began to suddenly intensify.

"Our unsub does not even get near his victims. He shoots at them from a distance, does not leave a trace. He is good." Added Rossi.

"Yes, indeed Dave. He is just too good. Each time he has killed with one single shot. A single shot but a fatal one. He must have had some type of background on the army or police force. He does too clean a job, chooses his victims and does not miss. Not one of them had any time at all to react." Hotch said, as he began dialing his cell phone.

"Technical Analyst Garcia speaking, what is your command oh Captain My Captain!" answered Penelope with a smile.

"Garcia, we need you to give us a list of men, between the ages of 20-50 who have served in the army, or any law enforcing agency, living around the area of Concord, centering on those who have trained and excelled with long range weapons"

"Yes, sir although that will probably take a few hours, sir"

"Understood, I know you will work as fast as you can, some of us are in a hurry to be back…"softly commented Hotch as his sight found Rossi and Morgan who had walked over to the SUV to take cover from the now falling rain.

"Amen to that sir, it is getting quite lonely here in Quantico without all of you!

Hotch smiled " we miss you too Penelope" as he closed his cell phone and ran to the detective's car to avoid getting soaked.

Back at Quantico, Penelope Garcia was already busy getting the information her boss had asked for. She had to award points to Hotch, he was the one who could surprise her most often. You never, knew what he was actually thinking. He had told her they missed her! Of all of them, she had definitely not expected that comment from him. Morgan surely, even Reid, but not Hotch. Then she remembered that time when they had had a case of an arsonist and he had come to her office to thank her . That had also been unexpected. She smiled... Before the call she had been thinking about all of them: wanting to gossip with JJ and Emily, wanting to tease the young genius just to see him blush and of course wanting to hug her chocolate Adonis. Now she also desired to see her boss furrowing his brows at someone! Who would have know that this such different group of individuals would become her family, thought Garcia as she searched for any type of break through that would put this unsub where he belonged and bring her family back soon.

It continued to pour, while Rossi and Morgan were driving to Steven Williams's restaurant. Hotch had gone along with the detective to inform and question Mr. Williams's wife. Informing a young woman that she had become a widow was not an easy task. Hotch decided to accompany the detective and if it was remotely possible try to ask anything that could help the case. He took a side look at the detective who was slowly driving towards the William's household. He clearly saw the regret and alarm the officer felt about having to do this. It was not an easy job and that was an huge understatement. He was glad he had decided to come and not sent Morgan or even Rossi, he had a strange feeling it was going to be harder that usual.


	6. Chapter 6 The puppy look comment

Chapter 6: The puppy look comment.

It was around 7:30pm when Hotch finally returned to the precinct. He was feeling awfully tired, it had been an extremely long day and he had not gotten very much sleep the night before. He had not eaten since breakfast but he was not really hungry, he was just exhausted and damp. He had gotten wet when they found Steven William's body and once again when he visited Mr. William's widow. His instinct had been right, the scene at the victim's house was heartbreaking. Clara Williams was now a 35 years old widow, and was left with three small boys between the ages of 4 and 11. Her small boy had looked like Jack, he was playing with some trucks on the front lawn when they arrived and looked so happy. Hotch knew that after this afternoon his life was never going to be the same. When they gave the terrible news to Mrs. Williams, she had broken down completely. Hotch had to hold her and almost carry her to the sofa as the detective called the EMT's and her next door neighbor, who had quickly arrived when she had heard the commotion, had started calling other family members and friends. While all this was taking place, the oldest kids where also crying and trying to hug their mother, but Hotch could clearly see small Jack look alike, hiding behind a chair, staring right at him with his eyes wide open. At that moment, Hotch would have wanted to pick him up, hold him and promise him that things would be fine, but sadly he could not do that, right now nobody could. It had been a draining afternoon and of course he was not able to question Clara Williams. After some members of the family had started arriving and Clara had been sedated, he was able to speak with the neighbor, Mrs. Clark, she had answered all his questions and handed him a cup of coffee. He was sure that if not for her coffee, he would have had a hard time staying awake on the ride back. Too bad, maybe he should have refused the coffee, suddenly he was certain that he was going to have some trouble sleeping tonight.

As Hotch entered the room that the BAU team had been working in, all eyes were on him. All of them noticed how tired and upset he seemed. It was not often they saw their boss looking so shaken. Without a word Emily walked out of the room, while Rossi solemnly stated:

"Bad"

"Awful" answered Hotch not wanting to elaborate. It was enough he had to experience it, it would not help any of them to hear the depressing details so instead he asked "any news from Garcia?"

"Actually she just sent us a list of individuals who have had training with long range weapons" answered Reid, glad to change subjects.

"And"

"Well, who would have thought that in such a small city there would be so many experts on weapons" exclaimed Morgan "it seems with have 43 possible suspects, we just do not seem to catch a break on this case".

At that moment Emily walked back in carrying a white clean towel on one hand and a Concord Police jacket on the other one. She handed the items to Hotch and said,

"You look like a lost wet puppy…sir"

The rest of the team froze. Hotch did indeed had that look but none of them would have ever said it to his face, maybe Dave but not exactly phrased as Emily just had. They were all waiting for the explosion that was sure to come. Hotch was fatigued, cold and probably hungry, this was not going to end well… To everyone's surprise, something totally unforeseen happened when Hotch turned around, shook his head in amazement and smiled at Emily. He took the items she had given him and excused himself:

"Thank you, Prentiss. I'll be right back", as he immediately left the room.

"Girl, what in the world were you thinking? Asked an intrigued Morgan, "Hotch could have taken your head of for your comment!"

Emily just smiled at Derek, while Rossi said : "I think Emily here was pretty clever, what Hotch needed was to take his mind off what he had seen, at least for a few seconds and that remark was able to do that, although I must say it was pretty brave of you".

"I believe that due to the long day we all have had, your brain stopped working for a few seconds and the "puppy look comment" escaped from your lips" laughted JJ looking at Emily, "I can't wait to call Garcia, she is going to enjoy this".

"No more "puppy look comments" for now!" Warned a worried Reid, "Hotch is coming back."

As Hotch came back looking drier and more composed than a few minutes earlier, he saw that his team was tidying up and getting ready to leave.

With a frown look he asked "where are you going?, we still have lots of work to do"

"You are right Aaron, we could stay here and work some more but it is almost 8pm and none of us have eaten more that a bad sandwich we sent for and that was seven hours ago." Rossi answered.

"Fine. We will start early again tomorrow".

They all went to have dinner at a Thai restaurant which some of the police officers had recommended to JJ. They all had started talking about the case as they waited for their food, all of them except for Hotch . He could not stop thinking about the youngest Williams kid. His eyes had looked at him with such fear and confusion. He looked at his watch, it was almost 10pm, too late to call Hayle's cell and ask to talk to Jack, he would do that tomorrow. As he turned his attention back at what was being discussed at the table, he noticed the case had been forgotten and now Emily was teasing Morgan about his last conquest. She was telling Morgan that a girl who did not understand what the demands of his job where and would not give him the opportunity to make a new date was not worth it. Hotch could see that even if Morgan had answered with a silly remark of his date's finest physical qualities, he was truly in agreement with Emily's comment. Right beside them, JJ had answered her cell phone with a huge smile and a soft "hi handsome", so no doubt that was Will with news from Henry. Dave was finishing his glass of red wine, enjoying hearing Emily's and Derek's banter. Reid, on the other hand, looked preoccupied, probably still hoping to make it to his mom's birthday. Hotch stood up and decided to go pay directly to the cashier but as he walked by, he placed his right hand on Reid's shoulder and softly so only Spencer could listen said:

"Don't loose hope, there is still time", and continued walking as the young profiler nodded with appreciation.


	7. Chapter 7: The Break

Chapter 7: The Break

The next day found all the BAU members working once again since 7am at the Concord Police precinct. It was now almost midday and they had not made much progress. Rossi, Morgan and Reid had been working on the list Garcia had sent. They were trying to narrow down the number of possible suspects, to do that Garcia had searched for all the information available for each of the 43 possible suspects. Meanwhile, Hotch and Prentiss had been reviewing the interviews the Concord detectives had done to the victims' relatives. JJ was working on a new press release and at the same time trying to calm the press down. They all had been working very hard to no avail until Hotch exclaimed,

"I got something!".

The rest of the team turned their undivided attention towards their boss.

"When I talked to Mrs. Clark, the Williams's neighbor , she mentioned that an old friend of hers, Jonas, was going to be upset to hear about Steven Williams death. In this report, the widow of the first victim also mentions a Jonas Montgomery, as the man who taught her husband where the best hunting grounds where and a lot of useful tricks. If Mrs. Clark is referring to the same person, he could be the common denominator between the victims!" explained Hotch.

"His name is not on the list Garcia gave us" supplied Reid.

"I'm calling Garcia, she will get information on this Jonas Montgomery" added Morgan.

"Do that, in the meantime find me Mrs. Clark phone number, I want to hear what she knows about Montgomery's relationship with Steven Williams" demanded Hotch.

Thirty minutes later, the team had information about Jonas Montgomery. According to Garcia's findings, he was a 71 year old man, married and retired from the postal service. He had lived all his life in the state of New Hampshire, had married Mary Thomas but they had never had any children. He had no police record and right now was living around the White Mountains about two and a half hours away from Concord. According to Mrs. Clark, he was a good, honest man who stopped coming to the city after his accident. Hospital records showed that Jonas Montgomery had lost his sight during an accident he suffered two years ago while hunting.

"Clearly he is not our unsub" stated Morgan "but he is involved somehow, I can feel it".

"Yes," agreed JJ "Emily and I just finish phoning the rest of the victims' families and it seems all of them knew Mr. Montgomery. Some of them have not seen him in more that ten years, though.

"The wives have confirmed that Jonas Montgomery helped their husbands when they were beginning to hunt." Added Emily. "They all remember him as a nice and friendly man who loved the outdoors".

"Indeed, it seems that until before his accident, he was usually contacted by those who wanted to learn better hunting skills and tips. He is well known and loved in the community" Reid stated.

"These killings started two and a half weeks ago" remembered Rossi, "Mr. Montgomery's accident took place two years ago, the two events are too separated. We are missing something"

" Right Dave, something that hopefully Mr. Montgomery is going to be able to clue us in. Okay, right now he is our only link with the unsub, Prentiss and I will go and pay a visit to Mr. Montgomery. You can continue combing Garcia's list, we will phone you with any additional information we might get. We may yet make it home this weeked" concluded Hotch, as he was already getting ready to head out, with Emily close behind him.

"I sure hope Hotch is right, I want this SOB behind bars as soon as possible" commented Morgan as the rest of them silently agreed.

I am sorry this chapter is a bit short but it is not so easy to find the right words in English. Hope some of you are still enjoying the story. Comments and ideas are welcomed!


	8. Chapter 8: Thanks

Chapter 8 : Thanks

It was taking Hotch and Emily more time than they had expected to reach where Jonas Montgomery lived. Hotch had been driving for almost two and a half hours and they were still about maybe 30 minutes away. For most of the trip both of them had been quiet, so quiet that Emily had even gone to sleep. Hotch took a glance at her. She looked so at peace, he was glad she was resting, she deserved it. Actually, he thought, they all deserved it. It had been a couple of very hard weeks, too much work along with little sleep and mostly bad take out food. He knew all his team members were eager to return to Virginia for different reasons, he had not been in such a hurry himself but right now that was starting to change. He was a bit jealous of Emily, who was starting to wake up at that moment. He had woken up a few times last night, courtesy of some horrible nightmares. He was aware the scene, at the last victim's home, had caused him great sorrow. Most of the bad dreams had centered around the young boy and his grief stricken expression, but the worst part was that suddenly the face he saw was not the one of Andy Williams (he had looked up his name) but of his own Jack. He had seen his little boy, Jack, wearing a look of terror on his face. Sweet Jack looking terrified. Jack crying. Jack had been staring at him with unanswered questions on his eyes. Hotch had woken up each time, his heart racing and his eyelashes damp. After the second recurring nightmare he had turned on the TV and watched old reruns until it had been time to get ready. Emily was just about to open her eyes so he turned his attention to the road. Watching her, he had come to the realization that he was not jealous of her ability to sleep so peacefully, he was comforted that she could. He was sure he had made the right decision of being him the one that went along with the detective, right now his team was over tired, none of them needed extra stress. He could handle it.

When Emily woke up, she felt Hotch's gaze on her turn immediately towards the road. He had been looking at her. She felt rotten, here he was without a doubt tired and stressed out and his partner was snoring away. She should have stayed awake, it is not that she did not try, but the car was so warm and cozy and the view and company was so relaxing. Wait a minute! Had she just thought about Hotch as someone who relaxed her…she must be still sleeping. She smiled. No, she was now wide awake and knew the feeling was right, Hotch had a way that made her feel secure.

"Morning Prentiss, hope you had nice dreams", greeted Hotch "actually I am pretty sure you had, you woke up smiling. I am glad you rested, we have about 20 more minutes to get there".

"Oh okay" answered an embarrassed Emily, glad that Hotch could not read her mind.

"Hotch , I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what"

"I should have stayed awake and keep you better company" responded an ashamed Emily.

Hotch looked at her and she was able to see a small smile. "You have nothing to be sorry. It gives me comfort to know that you can, even now, wake up smiling after these last exhausting days. By the way I want to thank you for what you did back at the station, yesterday evening."

"Yesterday evening?" a perplex Emily repeated.

"The puppy look remark"

"Oh that, I'm s.."

Hotch did not let her finish as he said: "do not tell me you are sorry, we both know you are not." He then truly smiled, dimples and all. "you actually difussed the situation, I was tired and in a particularly bad mood and would have maybe lashed out on one of you, your comment disarmed me. Plus the dry clothes probably saved my life!"

Emily just stared at him open mouthed as he added, with mock seriousness "but Prentiss, be careful, your next smart comment could backfire at you. Oh and if Garcia has the audacity to mention it to me, you will pay." He suddenly turned left and entered a secluded drive way. "Huh, looks like we are here, lets get this done." Finished Hotch as he was already taking of his seatbelt and opening his car door with a still amazed Emily following close behind. I must ask JJ if she already gossiped to Garcia, maybe it would be better for her health if the blond analyst never found out about her little comment.


	9. Chapter 9: Good News

Chapter 9: Good news

Jonas Montgomery lived in a small, secluded cabin with his wife Mary. When the doorbell rang, Mary Montgomery opened the door to find a couple who identified themselves as members of the FBI. They were asking to see her husband Jonas. She invited them to come inside as Jonas was in the family room listening to music, while she had been busy baking an apple pie for dinner. She could not imagine why two Federal Agents wanted to speak to her husband and by their looks it could not be something good. The man was tall and handsome but his eyes were somber, there was something obviously troubling him. The woman was younger and very beautiful, but Mary could tell she was observing her surroundings with care.

"Jonas darling, there are two FBI agents here, they want to talk with you" informed Mary as she sat beside Jonas and took hold of his hand in a loving and protective gesture that was not missed by both agents.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Montgomery. I am SSA Hotchner and this is my colleague agent Prentiss. We are investigating the murder of five men around the area of Concord. We would like to ask you some questions"

"Of course, agent, I am glad to help if I can," answered Jonas with honesty.

"It has come to our attention that you knew the last victim, Steven Williams" pointed out Emily.

"Yes, Mary told me about Steven, it was all over the news she said" he answered as he turned and nodded to his wife, "he was a very good young man. I taught him a bit about hunting and Mary used to send his wife recipes for the young ones. It is such a terrible tragedy. To tell you the truth, I knew all of them. All good men, some of them I met a long time ago and really never kept in touch but I did talk with Steven once in a while. He even came to visit me after my accident."

"How did it happen, your accident?" asked Hotch.

"I was careless" answered Jonas.

"No honey, you were not! It was just bad luck." Mary added.

"It happened two years ago, I was showing a young man where he could find the best deer around the area, he was from LA, if I remember correctly. Well anyway, it had been raining and the ground was slippery, he was really not wearing the best type of boots for the weather, he lost his balance… I should have been paying close attention, after all he was a rookie, it was my own fault, I should have not been so close to him…" remembered Jonas with a slight tremor on his voice. Hotch and Emily could see it was difficult for him to relieve it.

Suddenly Mary gave him a small hug and continued, "yes agents, you see, as the young man fell he accidentally pressed the trigger. My Jonas got grazed on the arm by the bullet and fell, hitting his head on a rock. I am very lucky to have him by my side".

"That is what she says, but I am the lucky one. She took great care of me before I lost my sight, now she spoils me rotten" he smiled with such tenderness Emily had to look away to avoid an escaped tear.

Mr. Montgomery continued answering their questions as best he could. Hotch and Emily were getting discouraged because they were not finding something that would help them find the unsub, they were yet to find a true connection between the victims, Jonas and the murderer. As they were about to leave, Mary offered them a piece of pie. As Hotch was politely turning the offer down, Jonas commented something that got their attention.

"Please agents, have a piece, since Ryan returned home, she has been baking his favorite pie almost daily in case he shows up, but he probably is still too upset and has not come back to visit us. I have been eating so much pie these last three weeks that I must have gained about ten pounds already!"

"Who is Ryan?" asked Hotch.

"Oh, Ryan is like a grandson to us. His family used to live about less that a mile away. He grew up going hunting with his father and Jonas, he would always come with apples for me, so I would make him his favorite" remembered Mary fondly.

"What changed?", inquired Emily, sensing that something definitely had.

"Well, three years ago his parents died in a car crash. He was devastated, he stayed with us for sometime but decided to enlist. He came back from Irak about a month ago but he was different. He came to visit us but got angry and upset with Jonas," continued Mary.

"Why did he get upset with you?" pressed Hotch.

"He told me I should have been more careful, I guess he is right but he got really angry and started talking about how people who own rifles should know how to handle them properly or not handle them at all. He is a nice boy but he must have seen terrible things in the army, he needs time to settle down and get used to regular life," answered Jonas.

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, you have been very helpful," stated Hotch as he took Jonas' hand an shook it, "just one more thing, what is Ryan's last name?"

"Jackson, Ryan Jackson", answered Jonas with new fear on his heart.

As soon as Emily and Hotch were outside the Montgomery's home, they looked at each other and Hotch took out his cell phone to call the team, it seemed they had finally had a break.

Back at Quantico, Garcia answered her phone, "Hello, Goddess of all cyber information, how can I help you?"

"Garcia, we have a lead, find us all the information on a Ryan Jackson, he recently came back from a tour of duty from Irak." Demanded Hotch.

"Sir, already done. Ryan Jackson is one of the names of the list I sent you. Does that mean you are all coming home soon, sir?"

"It certainly looks that way Penelope".

"That is good news, sir!

" It sure is,thanks Garcia!" answered Hotch as he ended the call and started calling Rossi.

"Dave, we have a suspect, Ryan Jackson…" Hotch reported to Rossi all the information they had gathered. "…and Dave, be careful, he is lethal with a weapon on his hands. Keep me posted, Emily and I are on our way but it will take us a while to get back there, it is starting to rain again," finished Hotch.

"Sure Hotch, I'll get back at you as soon as I have news", responded Rossi as the rest of the team were already putting on their vests and following the detectives out of the precinct to find Ryan Jackson's whereabouts.


	10. Chapter 10: Case Closed

Chapter 10: Case Closed

Hotch was about to get inside the SUV when Emily stopped him.

"It is my turn, sir"

"Do not worry, Prentiss. I can drive back"

"I am sure you can Hotch, but I am not so sure you should, and before you deny it, I know you are dead tired and I can bet you had almost no rest last night, so just hand me the keys and get comfortable, you can even follow my bad example and rest a bit."

"I better not ask how you know I had a lousy night, that would not be good for my self esteem. I guess you are right, maybe you should drive, at least for a while. Maybe later we can grab something to eat and trade places, is that good enough for you agent Prentiss?" asked a tired but a bit more relaxed Hotch. He knew she was being prudent, he was too exhausted to drive, especially under the rain that was falling harder with every passing minute.

"Yes, sir. That would surely be all right with me," answered Emily with a mock frown. She had been correct, he was so fatigued he did not even really try to fight her suggestion. Everyone had known yesterday's visit to the Williams household had been draining, she had noticed how he had been terribly quiet (even for him) during dinner, and once again everyone had noticed how his eyes were red this morning from lack of sleep. A couple of hours of sleep would do wonders for him.

As she predicted, after only ten minutes on the road, Hotch had fallen asleep. He tried to discuss the case but she told him to close his eyes for a little while because she wanted to pay attention to the road. It had been a half truth, she wanted him to sleep but going up and down these mountains with rain was not fun. They had driven about an hour when Hotch's cell rang. He was so out of it that he did not answer until after the fourth ring. It had been Morgan. The case was over. The team had found Ryan Jackson inside his apartment. It had not ended well. He had been surrounded and instead of giving himself up he committed suicide. Inside his apartment the team found the weapon he utilized to murder the five victims plus photos and newspaper clippings of all of them.

"…Rossi is finishing up all the reports along with the detectives and JJ is working on the press release " concluded Morgan.

"Fine. Morgan get our stuff ready and talk to the pilot, we will be leaving tonight. Emily and I will meet you at the airstrip," said Hotch.

"Tonight? Hotch, are you sure?

"Come on Derek, someone told me you guys are in a hurry to get back to Virginia, it seems you have a previous engagement to honor, that would also give Reid enough time to fly tomorrow to Vegas and celebrate with his mother. We will meet you around 7pm, be there"

"Alright, Hotch…thanks man" a surprised Morgan ended the call. He wasted no time in getting things done and telling the others they were flying home that same evening. JJ phoned Will with the great news, she was going to see her family this evening. Rossi was glad he did not cancel his reservations, maybe Aaron would enjoy coming with him and doing some fishing.

Emily could see Hotch's whole body relax after he spoke with Derek. The case was closed. The BAU team was going home. Suddenly, she figured out that not only was Hotch worried about the case; he had been seriously concerned about all of them. He knew they were tired of being on the road, of not having time for themselves or for their loved ones, time to relax and enjoy life, time to forget the dark world they had to immerse themselves every time they had to catch and unsub. She looked at him and smiled, a smiled that understood all the weight that he had been feeling. He looked back at her and gave her a full,relieved smile. She was about to ask him something when the unthinkable happened…


	11. Chapter 11: Tough it out, Hotchner!

I would like to thank those of you that have taken the time to review, especially Sue1313 and cyn23. This is my first story ever and it has been a challenge not only to come with ideas but mainly to write them down in English. All in all, I am having fun!

Chapter 11: Tough it out, Hotchner!

It was already 7:34pm and Derek Morgan was once again pacing up and down the jet. JJ was playing cards with Spencer, while David Rossi was trying to read. Rossi had reread the last page at least three times but if you asked him what was it about he would not had been able to answer. He could not concentrate even if Derek would stop pacing, probably because Reid had been asking JJ what time it was every five minutes for the last half hour. The waiting was driving seasoned, calmed and collected David Rossi totally insane.

He did what all of them wanted to do and took out his cell phone. "I have had it with all of you, I am calling them right now to see how long till they arrive. Then maybe I can finish this chapter," stated an upset David Rossi.

"Oh come on man, you are as worried as we all are," exclaimed Morgan "it is not like Hotch to be late and not call."

"Besides, that road is really windy and with the rain…do you know that 67% of all driving accidents…"

"Cut it out kid!" interrupted Morgan "none of us what to hear about those type of statistics, keep them to yourself".

"Come on boys, settle down. Rossi why don't you phone them and then we can all relax," voiced an anxious looking JJ.

David Rossi dialed Hotch's number but no one answered. Now all of them were rattled. Hotch always answered. Dave continued to dial Emily's cell, it rang once, twice, three, four and at the fifth ring, someone answered.

"Emily is that you?" an eager Rossi asked.

Ten minutes before David Rossi made that call, Emily Prentiss had started to open her eyes. Damn, was it morning already? God, everything hurt, these hotel beds where killing her. She finished opening her eyes and then she noticed it was dark and she was inside an SUV. Oh my God, the SUV…the deer…Hotch! She turned her head towards Hotch and saw him. He looked pale and there was a superficial cut on his forehead but he was breathing. She tried to move towards him. It was to no avail, she was pinned down by the steering wheel, Emiy was trapped. She could feel her legs but could not move them more than a few inches. Moving her legs was a good sign, it meant they were not broken just stuck. Now she had to somehow find out how Hotch was doing. She raised her right hand, stretched and barely touched his face while calling his name.

"Hotch! Hotch! Wake up! Can you hear me?"

Hotch slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. "Emily, what happened? Are you okay?" As he asked this, he made a move to reach her and he could not avoid screaming in pain.

"Hotch, Hotch! Talk to me, what is wrong? Where are you hurt?"

He made a hand signal for her to stop. It took him a few minutes to recover from the excruciating pain he had felt when he tried to reach her. He looked down and saw that a glass from his side window had embedded itself underneath his right ribs. It did not look good, not good at all. It was bleeding profusely, when he had tried to move it had hurt like hell. He turned and saw Emily's worried expression and said.

"I'm in a bit of a jam, are you ok? Where are you hurt?

"I am fine, nothing is broken but the steering wheel is not allowing me any movement. Now tell me, what is wrong with you?"

He was not sure if he should tell her the truth, she could not do a thing about it anyway. He was about to feed her a small white lie when she grabbed his hand and said:

"I need to know what is wrong, please Hotch, trust me. I am here for you"

Aaron Hotchner knew he could trust her completely, he just did not want to see her hurt or worried about him, he wanted to protect her. He wanted to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be fine, but he couldn't.

As he squeezed her hand, he said, " there is a fairly big piece of glass jammed at my right side, below my ribs. There is a lot of bleeding but I am sure it would not be a good idea to try and take it out. I definitely should not be moving much!"

Her eyes began to sting. This was so unfair, she was not prepared for this, they were supposed to be going home. She was had not been driving fast, dumb animal had to jump in front of them. Now there were down what looked as a ravine, surrounded my trees and to top it off it was still raining. How was anybody going to spot them? This should not have happened. The team was waiting for them…the team.

"Hotch, can you reach your cell phone?"

"I believe I can, give me a second!" As he reached for it he could not find it, suddenly, as if by will, it began to ring.

"Shit, it must have fell down when we crashed, I can't get to it! It must be them" expressed an agitated Hotch.

It stopped ringing but immediately they heard another phone ring, this time it was Emily's.

"Hotch, it is mine! Try to find it! I think it landed behind my seat, on the floor! Can you see it?"

Hotch saw it, without a word he stretched his left arm towards the back seat and gradually moved till he reached it. He quickly handed it to Emily and closed his eyes. It had been too much of a strain, his side was in incredible pain. He was about to pass out. That had not been a terribly smart move but they both needed to get out of there, Emily had said she was okay but he could already see bruising on her right arm and right side of her face. He was sure she was hurting too. He closed his eyes even tighter as dizziness engulfed him. He heard as she talked to someone but could not make out the words.

Emily had answered the phone with a soft "thank God".

"Emily is that you?" an eager Rossi answered.

"Dave, we had an accident. Hotch needs help right away!"

"Ok help is on the way kid, tell me how you are doing." A tense Rossi asked, while he gestured Morgan to call Garcia.

"It is Hotch who is badly hurt, please send help, now!" answered Emily. She had seen Hotch close his eyes and she noticed he was breathing faster, he had beads of sweat on his forehead mixing with the blood that was still coming out of the cut he had sustained there. He looked paler than before and he was not saying a word but pain was pictured all over his face.

"Focus Emily! You are doing great! Garcia is tracing your location as we speak, help will soon be there. What is wrong with Aaron?

Emily took some seconds to calm herself down and described Hotch's condition as best she could. It upset her enormously the fact that she could not see Hotch's wound and somehow try to stop the bleeding.

"He has a piece of glass embedded on his right side, I am trapped by the steering wheel so I can't see it. He is breathing fast, sweaty and pale. He told me he was bleeding. I can't do anything to help him, Dave, please hurry!"

"Is he conscious?"

"Yes!" affirmed Emily and in a softer voice continued "Dave, please hurry, I know he is in immense pain, I am afraid". Emily did not want to voice her fears but David Rossi clearly understood her concern as he responded in a soothing manner.

"Aaron is a strong willed man, Emily. Keep him awake, he is probably going into shock. It looks like Garcia just pinpointed your location, air rescue will be there in less than 15 minutes. We will be waiting for you at the hospital. Everything is going to be alright, kid. Have faith."

"I will!" responded a hopeful Emily as she closed her phone and closed her eyes and pondered. Fine, Dave has been around, he knows what he is talking about. Everything will be okay. Hotch will be okay, he is tough, nothing bad can happen to him. I can't deal with anything bad happening to him. I must keep it together, it will be less than 15 minutes, I can do this. She opened her eyes and tenderly called his name.

"Hotch, Hotch, can you listen to me? I talked to Dave, help is coming!"

Hotch did not answer. She squeezed his hand harder.

"Hotch, come on wake up, you need to open your eyes".

Nothing. She pinched his hand and then reached as far as she could to caress his face.

"Please Aaron, open your eyes. Talk to me. Argg" yelped Emily.

"Prentiss…uhm, what is wrong? Answered a confused Hotch as he opened his eyes to see Emily Prentiss squirming in pain trying to get an inch closer to him. She was crying.

"Hotch, I spoke with Dave! Help is on the way, just hang on, help will be here in no time" cried Emily.

"Don't cry, Emily, and for God sake stop moving, you are going to hurt yourself more!" ordered Hotch as he once again closed his eyes. His head was pounding and opening his eyes had made him want to throw up.

"No, open your eyes, you can't go to sleep"

"Emily, I need to rest, it will be for only a couple of minutes" answered Hotch as he closed his eyes once again.

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE AARON HOTCHNER!" Yelled an alarmed Emily Prentiss. "You are staying with me until help comes, so, tough it out! Hotchner!"

Hotch opened his eyes and looked at Emily in total disbelieve. It could not seem possible that Prentiss had lifted her voice and told him to "tough it out". "Tough it out" for crying out loud, he had a piece of car stuck on his side, she had some gall saying that to him. She was the one with tears streaming down her face, not him. Tears. She was worried about him, she was keeping him safe as she usually did. How could he be so stupid, she was practically frantic! He was possibly was going into shock, he should have known that, it was part of his training. Shit, his head hurt, not to mention his side. She was right! He had to stay awake. What on earth was he thinking, leaving her alone during this mess, she must me hurting too. Damn Hotchner, tough it out! She was so strong. She was amazing! Once again she had surprised him in the most unusual way. Through his pain he tried to smile at her.

Beside him, Emily could not believe she had just shouted at her boss. What was she thinking? Hotch. He was her only concern, he had to hang on. She had told Hotch to "tough it out", after he somehow had moved and reached for her cell phone, that had to be tremendously painful. In addition, she was pretty sure that he had a concussion. What had possessed her to scream at him to "tough it out"? No doubt about it, she must have hit her head too!

She looked at him feeling nothing but shame and regret, she was about to apologize when he said:

"Don't. Thanks. I needed that," uttered Hotch trying to smile but failing miserably.

Emily grinned affectionately "so I guess this did not backfire either!"

"You are playing with fire, Emily" smirked Hotch. He proceeded to try and reach her hand. She immediately noticed his intention and complied. As soon as she touched his hand he began to fade.

Emily was scared. He had just called her by her first name. That was a first, she was always Prentiss never had he called her Emily.

"Hotch, please don't go to sleep. I know, lets play a game"

"Emily, I can't…it is so cold"

Emily knew that Hotch was deteriorating rapidly. "Come on Hotch, humor me! This is your chance, ask me anything and I will answer with the truth"

"Anything" he murmured.

"Absolutely!" Right now, Emily was desperate. Help was hopefully a few minutes away, she had to keep him awake a bit more and everything was going to be fine. It had to be, there was no way she was going to loose Hotch.

"I can't, I am cold Emily, I can't think…"

"Come on Aaron, ask!"

"Why are you… not in a hurry…to go back home?" asked Hotch trying to slow down his breathing with no success.

Emily stared and him and suddenly smiled. How did he know she was not really all that concerned about going home tomorrow. How was he even capable of thinking coherently right now?

"Of all the things you could ask, you ask me such a simple question?"

"Don't stall"

"Ok, I was not really in a hurry because my mother made me promise to go to one of those embassy parties which I hate. That was easy, you should have asked something more interesting while you had the chance", responded Emily caressing his cheek.

"Mmmm, why?"

"Why?" she frowned confused, "Oh, you mean why I don't like those parties?

Hotch nodded in response, looking at her with all the attention he could muster.

Emily shrugged her shoulders and sadly admitted "Actually, the food and the music are usually pretty good, I even love to dance and wear a fancy dress but the men that attend those things by themselves are usually stuck up or looking for a quick fling…I guess I'm just plain boring! I would prefer to stay home than to go there with someone who doesn't really care about me or what I want "

Damn, thought Emily. I am doing a lousy job keeping him in good spirits by babbling about this nonsense. God! He is hurting so bad and here I am complaining about having to attend a stupid party! He is looking worse! Where is the damn help, they should be here already!

Even though Hotch had almost no energy left he felt how disappointed Emily had sounded. Shit, she was crying again.

"Em.." Hotch tried to speak but he was feeling so tired.

"Aaron! Come on don't leave, I need you!" cried Emily, holding his hand and feeling desolate for not being able to help him. "Please, talk to me!"

Finding all the strength he had left, Hotch was able to whisper two words before he closed his eyes… "I care".


	12. Chapter 12: Guilt

Chapter 12: Guilt

Emily Prentiss could not believe what had happened in the last few hours. She was beside herself with worry. How could things turn out so wrong in such a small lapse of time? After so much work and hardship they had faced during the last weeks, they were finally going to be able to relax. She and Hotch were supposed to meet the rest of the team and fly home tonight, fate had decided against that. Right now, she was being taken to the nearest hospital, she had no clue how Hotch was doing. He had lost consciousness a couple of minutes before the rescue team had gotten to them. They had immediately started working on him, she heard words such as "shock", "blood loss", "internal bleeding" and "system is crashing" but they had taken him out of the wrecked SUV to treat him so she could not see what was happening to him. She could not see his face or hold his hand, not knowing was heartbreaking. She remembered that while this was taking place, there was a fireman trying to free her from her confinement, at all moments he was telling her to calm down. She wondered why he was doing that, she was not even making a sound, she was completely concentrated in listening what was going outside with Hotch. Hotch, her boss, the man that she respected, the man that she completely trusted with her life, the man that had slowly turned into her friend, the man who minutes ago told her that he cared. His statement should not have come as a complete surprise, she knew Hotch cared about all members of his team…but the way he had looked at her and how he had said those two short words had a deeper meaning. She was fairly sure of that, but at the moment she would not dwell on it, she only wanted him to be okay, to be safe. Suddenly, she had not been able to hear any voices and she had panicked. She had tried to move but had been quickly restrained by another pair of hands, this time it had been a paramedic.

"Please stay put ma'm, he is being flown to the hospital and as soon as we get you out of here we will transport you too! Don't worry, he is in the best of hands" a young man had calmly stated as he had taken her pulse.

It had seemed to Emily that it took forever to liberate her from the SUV, although in reality it was about 15 minutes. She had been placed on a gurney and transported by ambulance to the hospital. She had tried to make the paramedics understand that she had not been hurt at all, only had a few bumps but they responded that it was procedure after such an accident to place her on a gurney. Now, during the ride, Emily could not distract herself from her horrible thoughts. Thoughts of Hotch in terrible pain, thoughts of Hotch dying. God, she need to be by his side NOW!

When Emily finally was wheeled through the emergency doors, the rest of the team where waiting for her. She saw a red eyed JJ get near her and felt as her friend grabbed her hand for a few seconds.

"Em, you are going to be okay!" said JJ with a soft voice.

Rossi was right beside JJ, he looked tired and somehow older.

"Everything is fine, Emily, you did great!" he tried to cheer.

Morgan came up from the other side, he smiled at her but it came out more like a grimace. Reid was behind Derek, she was not able to see his face as the paramedics turned the gurney and entered a room. She had wanted to ask them about Hotch but had been too scared to do it. All their faces showed deep worry and sadness. She had expected that, although her heart had frozen when she caught a glimpse of something close to guilt written on their faces. As doctors checked and probed on her, she closed her eyes and wondered why would her friends be displaying guilt. She could only come with one devastating reason: Hotch was dead and they felt guilty for lying, for telling her that everything was going to be okay when things would never be fine again. That was Emily's last thought as the sedatives the doctors had administered took the desired effect.


	13. Chapter 13:The Wait

Chapter 13: The Wait

For the BAU members that were not involved in the crash, it had been a very intense couple of hours. When they arrived at the hospital to wait for Emily and Hotch they had been extremely worried. It had been pretty upsetting to hear that Emily was frantic and barely keeping it together. She was usually the calmed and levelheaded one of the girls, while Garcia and JJ were usually more emotional. The team was concerned about Hotch, Rossi had mentioned that according to Emily he had been conscious but was seriously wounded. During the conversation with Emily, Rossi had not heard a word out of Hotch, the latter added to her report made it not look well for their unit chief.

After talking to Emily, they had driven directly to the hospital and began their wait for news about their colleagues and friends. Barely twenty minutes later they heard a commotion by the elevators, suddenly they saw their boss Aaron Hotchner laying on a gurney and being rapidly transported to a trauma room. His arrival had been so fast they had only caught a glimpse of him but what they saw was not good. Hotch seemed unconscious and they were able to see a sharp object embedded on his side, there was blood all over the right side of his body. At that moment JJ could not take it anymore and began crying softly, Reid hugged her and sat her down. David Rossi felt the urge to get some coffee so he went to look for some. The truth was that Rossi had needed some time away from the team to try and compose himself, it had deeply rattled him to have seen Aaron in such a bad state. Meanwhile, Derek Morgan had started pacing one more time although now he was holding a small crucifix on his right hand.

About 10 minutes later, as Rossi came with some coffee for all of them, they had seen how Hotch was once again rushed out, on this occasion away to the OR. One of the doctors who had been with him inside the ER room came and spoke to the team.

"I understand you are all waiting for news on Mr. Hotchner"

"Yes, we all work for the FBI, he is our boss and friend. How is he? Will he be okay?" asked JJ looking straight at the doctor with tears still showing on her eyes.

"We had some trouble stabilizing him. Right now he was sent to the OR, there they will extract a fairly big piece of glass that perforated his right side, 3 centimeters below his ribs. He is fortunate, it seems the foreign object did not reach a vital organ."

"So you are telling us he is going to be fine?" interrupted a somewhat relieved Derek Morgan.

"No, I am sorry, I am not saying that. Mr. Hotcner is still critical. You see, he has lost a lot of blood and is still bleeding. The surgeons are going to extract the object and repair the bleeders. We will have to wait and see how he endures the procedure although I have great confidence, he is young and in good health. One of the surgeons will come and inform you how it all went as soon as he can, I understand you are still waiting on another colleague" explained the doctor.

"Yes, we are. Thank you doctor" expressed a somber Rossi.

As the doctor walked away, Rossi saw a depressed group around him.

"Come on, Hotch will pull through! He is too stubborn to just give up!"

"Rossi is right, I do not know anybody with more will power. He is strong, soon he will be bossing us around again!" commented Morgan, trying to convince the rest of them as much as himself.

"This is my doing, if only I should not been in such a hurry to make it to my mom's birthday!" regretted Reid "They should not have been coming back with all the rain to try to make it on time".

"Oh come on kid, don't go there! On that case, I am as guilty as you, cause I wanted to get home for a stupid date and Hotch knew it"

"Hotch and Emily was were aware that I was missing Henry"

"Stop it, all of you! We all wanted to go home for different reasons but that did not cause the accident. It was just that, an accident, nothing more. I am sure Emily and Hotch also wanted to fly back home tonight. I have known Aaron Hotchner a long time and he would never compromise a fellow's agent life by rushing things. For that matter, neither would Emily so all of you snap out of it!" an upset Rossi declared. "Emily should be here any minute now. We really can't lie to her and tell her Hotch is out of the woods but we can try and give her hope."

All of them nodded and were about to sit down when they saw their friend Emily Prentiss entering the ER. She looked tired and they could already see bruises on her forehead and on the part of her arms not covered by her blouse. They saw she was wide awake and in seconds all of them were right beside her. They tried to comfort her but she did not utter a word. She was taken inside the same room on which Hotch was treated, none of them noticed this. JJ, Dave, Derek and Spencer all looked at each other in complete shock, never had they seen Emily in s a state of such total despair. Something was very wrong. They would have to wait, again for news on her and news from Hotch. As Derek Morgan started moving back towards the waiting room, his cell phone rang.

As he looked at the caller id he placed his hand on his head and said "Damn, it's Garcia" he continued to answer the phone and convey as well as he could what had developed in the last couple of hours.


	14. Chapter 14: Relief

**Hope some of you are still reading this!**

Chapter 14: Relief

It was Saturday morning and just outside room 307 on a small waiting lounge, anyone who passed by, could see a group of very different characters sitting by, they had been there since Thursday evening. Doctors had tried to sent them away but had not been successful for more than a few hours at a time. They all looked tired but in much better spirits than two days ago. JJ was holding her son Henry, while Will was searching for his son's favorite toy, a little blue stuffed pony. JJ looked tired but completely content holding her little boy. Penelope Garcia was quietly playing cards with a lethargic looking Derek Morgan, they were both smiling at each other after he had lost once again. On a corner, drinking coffee and reading Saturday's newspaper was David Rossi and sitting at his left side was an exhausted Emily Prentiss.

Thursday night the team had learned that Emily had sustained several bumps and bruises but was in fairly good condition. She had been sedated to make her rest because the doctors feared that she was not going to any other way. The paramedics who had brought her had informed that she was overwhelmed with worry for the man who was with her during the accident. The doctors had decided to keep her on observation during the night and the next day she was going to be released. JJ and Morgan had taken turns keeping her company during the night but she had never opened her eyes. When Friday morning came, Emily finally woke up feeling groggy and very thirsty. As she tried to sit up, she had groaned in pain as all her body ached, that is when she remembered what had happened and started sobbing. Her sobs had woken up a sleeping JJ, who thinking that something was medically wrong with Emily had immediately called a nurse. As the nurse came inside the room, the rest of the team did too, plus Penelope Garcia, who had caught the first flight to New Hampshire she could find to be with her friends. The nurse had given Emily something for the pain and explained to her that the doctor would be over soon to talk about her follow up care. As soon as the nurse left, and seeing all the team tired and worried faces Emily had started crying again without still uttering a word.

"Emily, darling, everything is fine, it is over. You are going to be okay" Rossi tried to calmed her. His words made Emily cry harder. How was Dave saying that, couldn't they see that without Hotch, things would never be okay. She felt a deep void inside of her as if she would not be able to feel joy ever again. She was never going to be near him again, God, it hurt so much to think about him. That is when she heard JJ's voice.

"Hotch made it, Emily. He will be fine too"

Emily turned to look at JJ, she was smiling. No, it could not be, yesterday she had been so sure, their faces showed so much pain and guilt.

"JJ is right. Our fearless leader is going to be okay. He gave us a scare though!" confirmed Garcia.

"Sure did! He still has not woken up but the doctors said he will make a complete recovery" added a scraggy looking Reid.

"Hotch is not dead? Are you telling me the truth?" asked Emily in a soft pained voice. They could be telling me this just to calm me down. No they wouldn't. OMG Hotch is alive. "I thought…"

"Emily, we are being completely honest. Aaron is banged up but he will heal. You are both going to be okay. Yesterday, when you were brought in, we were not sure he was going to make it so we could not give you assurance but believe us when we say, he is out of danger, kiddo! If I know Aaron he is going to be sore at us for staying here waiting for him to wake up from his beauty sleep" concluded a smirking Rossi.

At his last comment, Derek Morgan had to laugh. Seeing Morgan laugh and the rest of them in good spirits, made it real for Emily. Hotch was alive. Tears started coming again, but this time they were tears of relief. She felt a warmth starting to take hold of her heart, she smiled through her tears. Hotch was alive!

That had happened yesterday. She had been released and given a prescription of drugs that would help her deal with her numerous aches, but even those did not dampen her spirit. Hotch was going to be okay and that is what mattered. She had waited with the rest of the team for Hotch to wake up sometime during Friday but that had not happened. By Friday night they were all started to get worried again, even though Hotch's doctors had stated that he need time for his system to recover from the shock and blood loss. All of them kept vigil by Hotch's room. All of them except JJ who had received a surprise visit from Will and Henry, and Emily because the team had forced her to go to a hotel near the hospital to rest. She had made them promise to come and get her if Hotch woke up but sadly that had not taken place yet. Now they were all waiting impatiently for him to open his eyes. Emily had gone to his room as soon as she was released. He was looking much better than the last time she had seen him but still was too pale for her liking. Right at this moment Reid was coming from Hotch's room. Everyone suddenly looked at him but he shook his head, Hotch had still not woken up. Rossi placed his newspaper on the nearby table and walked towards room 307, it was his turn to keep him company.

David Rossi was about to sit down on the chair near Hotch's bed when he heard his name.

"Dave," Hotch said with a raspy voice.

"About time you decided to join us, Aaron. The kiddies are getting restless," grinned Rossi.

"Is Emily …"

Before Hotch could finish asking, Dave was quickly reassuring him that Emily was in good health. He sure did not want his friend to think something bad had happened to her, they had enough confusion before. This is interesting, Dave thought, Hotch has never called Emily by his first name. I guess after what they went through, things changed.

"Emily is outside with the rest of the team, waiting for you to grace us with your famous scowl! She has some cuts and bruises and to tell you the truth must be feeling quite tired but she will be much better once she sees you are awake. You had us in suspense quite some time. I better call the doc"

"Dave wait. How long has it been?"

"Too damn long, if you ask me, Aaron! To tell you the truth I was a bit worried too. You had the accident Thursday, early evening, today is Saturday. Now stay put, do not close your eyes, I will be back in a sec".


	15. Chapter 15: A visit to room 307

Chapter 15: A visit to room 307.

After David Rossi had come out of room 307 with good news, a doctor and two nurses had immediately entered the room and were still there 20 minutes later. All of them were feeling relieved, finally Hotch had woken up and according to Rossi, he had seemed alert although understandingly confused about how long he had been out of it. Now they were all getting a bit antsy, they wanted to see their friend, talk to him and each of them corroborate what Dave had seen.

Ten more minutes later, the doctor along with the nurses came out. He approached the patient's friends and said,

"Mr. Hotchner is doing quite well. He does not have any sign of infection on his wound, although we will be checking his temperature and bandage every hour. Right now he is very weak due to the blood loss and his body needs lots of rest. Through his IV he is being given pain killers along with antibiotics to prevent infection. He is a strong and lucky man, you all may go and visit him but please keep it short, he needs to recover and the best way to do that is to sleep and rest."

"Thank you doctor, those are great news", replied JJ.

"Doctor, how long before he'll be able to get out of the hospital?" asked Morgan.

"Providing there is no infection, Mr. Hotchner will be able to go home Monday morning. Of course, he will have to have a checkup with his regular physician as soon as he gets there and he will have to take it easy for at least two weeks or more depending on his recovery progress. Now I must leave you, but please make your visit a short one", with that the doctor walked away quickly and entered another room nearby.

"Okay, you heard what the doctor said, just a quick hello and we are out of here" ordered Rossi as all of them except Will, who was feeding Henry, walked towards Hotch's room.

As they entered they saw Hotch, he looked at them and rested his eyes on Emily.

"Prentiss, I… you should be resting! How are you doing?"asked Hotch, with a raspy voice, as he tried to reach a glass of water that had been left for him on his night table. Garcia quickly realized what he wanted and reached for it giving some to water to him.

"I am fine Hotch, it was you we all were worried about" answered Emily, her eyes becoming a bit moist.

Hotch stared at her and was about to say something but then nodded and changed his mind, instead he turned to look at the rest of his team and exclaimed "And what in the world are you all still doing here, you should all have gone home, Reid your mom's birthday, JJ…"

Rossi and Morgan just grinned at each other while Reid answered "Hotch, please do not get upset, we wanted to stay".

"Yes, the doctors told us you were out of danger but we just could not leave without making sure for ourselves" added JJ with a smile.

"But you missed Henry and…"

"Yes I did, but I trust Will with him, I knew Henry was well taken care of. As you always tell us, we are a team and teammates take care of each other" interrupted JJ.

"Thank you, all of you. Garcia it means a lot to see you here"

Garcia blushed and smiled while Hotch continued "I am aware you all had plans, I am so sorry to have dampened them…"

"Aaron, get it through your thick head; these kids care for you." Morgan glanced at Rossi with a raised eyebrow "Fine, I was worried too. Thank God things turned out well and you and Emily are in the mend. Will brought JJ's baby so we have been taking turns playing with the kid. Reid, here, spoke with his mom and will visit her next weekend, and Derek is trying, without luck I might add, to ask out ever good looking nurse to show him the city".

"That is so not true, Rossi…"gasped Morgan.

"Do not worry my handsome knight, you can join me and our young genius for drinks tonight" said Garcia.

Hotch smiled and at the same time tried to fight a yawn, he was enjoying being with them and listening to their bantering but was rapidly becoming sleepy. Rossi noticed this and immediately said:

"I seem to remember the doctor told us Hotch needs his beauty sleep"

At this statement Hotch quickly frowned and stared at him, making the rest of them laugh.

"Now we are 100 % sure you are going to be alright, Hotch!" remarked a chuckling and already departing Morgan.

As all of them were saying their goodbyes and walking out of the room, Hotch called after Emily.

"Prentiss, could you stay for a few minutes?"


	16. Chapter 16 The End

As you guess by the out of inspiration title, this is the last chapter of my first every story. It was fun to write and practice my English. I hope you enjoyed it as well. Thanks a lot to those of you that read and especially to those of you that reviewed (Sue1313, Jadestar1981, cyn23, nataliebianca, carolinagirlfromsc, jeannieam, GreenIz, and all the rest), you guys made the difference (continue writing or not).

Hope you all enjoy The End!

Chapter 16: The End

"Prentiss, could you stay for a few minutes?"

Emily turned around and walked towards the bed while the rest of the team left the room. Rossi was the last to depart, and with a knowing smile, he closed the door of room 307, giving them some privacy.

"What is wrong Hotch? Do you need me to call a nurse?" an alarmed Emily asked.

"No, Emily."

There it was again, he was using her first name once more. She could get used to that really fast. God, now he was staring at her with those eyes. She felt as if he was actually reading her mind, or was it her heart? Stop it Emily, she told herself. I am sure letting my imagination run wild, maybe I do need the rest.

Hotch continued, " I wanted to thank you. You saved my life." As he said this he stretched his hand towards hers. She quickly took his hand as she sat down on the nearby chair and answered,

"Do not say that Hotch, I feel so bad. I was not able to avoid the deer, it was all my fault and I couldn't even reach your would to try and help you. I felt so useless!"

"Emily, first of all no one could have avoided the crash, it was an accident, do not dare blame yourself for it. Secondly, without you there I probably would have given up, you kept me going. You made me hang on, for that I can't thank you enough."

Emily smiled, although tears were running across her face. She had no words. He was being so sweet. She was sure he would have made it with or without her words, Hotch had the greatest will power but she was glad she helped somehow. She looked at him as if to say something but couldn't, the tears would not stop.

"Emily, you are scaring me. Are you feeling sick? Damn, you should be resting, you probably have not eaten in who knows how long, I must talk to Dave," rambled Hotch as he tried to sit up straight but immediately stopped when he felt a horrible pain on his side. Shit! He had forgotten for a second that he had been wounded. The excruciating pain that resulted in the small movement had efficiently reminded him of the fact.

Emily saw his expression change from one of serenity and thankfulness to one of concern and confusion and suddenly to one of great pain. When she had begun crying he had tried to sit up, probably to comfort her and now he was pale and sweating. She had done it again, maybe she should just leave him alone, then again, maybe she should stop the tears.

As she wiped her tears with her left hand, with her right she squeezed his hand, and smiled at him.

"Could this be true, you have no words for me, no smart or funny remarks! Come on Emily, no "tough it out Hotchner", no puppy look comments, nothing?"

Emily was alarmed for a second, was he being ironic? Upset? She then had access to a wonderful new sight. Hotch had a full blown smile on his face, dimples and everything. Even his eyes were smiling. She could not believe it!

"God Hotch, the guys would not believe me if I told them you own the most incredible smile" blurted Emily immediately blushing. "Sorry, I did not mean that…"

"So what did you mean? Do I have a nice smile or not? What is it, Prentiss?" kidded Hotch. He was relieved to see Emily was over her saddness.

"I meant…"

"Emily, I know it may be a first to you, but I was teasing." Hotch once again smiled but suddenly turned serious and stared at her, "I think the meds are getting to me, but before I close me eyes I want you to promise me something."

"Sure, Hotch, anything" answered Emily a bit surprised at his sudden change of mood.

"Emily, the next time your mother tricks you to attend an embassy party, would you care to attend with me?"

THE END


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